michelle ward

BOO!

Party report:  It was fantastic!  Fallon and her friends were all in their goth carb, and spent the night eating, laughing, singing, and of course DANCING!  They ended up in our basement pub, decked out with nightclub lighting.  It was a rainy morning that turned into a perfect evening, just the right temp to head out to the deck to cool off in between tracks on Fallon's playlist.

Fallon's favorite band:  My Chemical Romance.  If you know the band, you KNOW why she had to have the jacket, and joined The Black Parade for Halloween.  And my favorite band....had to include them too.  Hey, the colors worked!

One of my favorite finds for this year - got them at Target.  Stock up on them....you'll be impressed, really!

I remember Halloween as a kid in Minnesota.  It was so cold you had to have a costume that would fit OVER your snowmobile suit.  I'm sure it snowed more than once....just as it did when the kids were little and we lived in northern Michigan. 

Be sure to hop over to the Street Team blog and see all the ghouly goodness being shared for the Get Goth Crusade!!   See link list for Crusade No. 13.

Did you see this?  I wonder if they give out good candy at this house?

And did you see THIS?  Ullabenulla shares some terrific images for Halloween.....be sure to check out the Ossuary she posts about on October 29.  And THIS, from the History Channel.

Be safe.  Carry a flashlight, and brush your teeth before bed.

Cutting Teeth

How's this for scary clever?  Mom made us this ceramic pumpkin in a class a few years ago.   

EDIT:  finally took a few more photos...they are up on the Street Team blog.  Are you gothing out for Halloween?  Making cool cards or costumes or are you a master carver?  Show us! 

me as a student

Susanna and I have been taking a silkscreen printing class.  It's been fun to be making stencils of a different variety.  It took a few tries so come up with a graphic that jived with film processor's capabilities.  My first two images were too intricate and the pixilation of them really bugged me.  Tonight I went for big and bold....here's the one shirt I was able to print! 

There is only one station in the classroom where we print so we have to take turns.  I'll get to print a few more next week.  My kids were so impressed with this shirt - Fallon wants to wear it to school tomorrow, and Peter said "You always say that".  Is it bad to admit I TOTALLY love this and wish I could print dozens and give them away? 

It's been a good week!

Saturday, I was a lucky girl - had a lovely day in the city with my friend Lynne.  We had planned to catch Wendy Addison's Trunk Show at Tinsel Trading but serendipity was at play and we got to squeeze in a Klimt show too!  The Neue Gallery is hosting a show on Gustav Klimt, with a handful of his paintings, many drawings, and some other treats.  The biggest thrill for me was seeing this beauty....a familiar piece to many of us but you just gotta see it for real.  The textures and metallics are stunning! 

After a terrific lunch and visit to the gallery Lynne and I dashed down to Tinsel Trading Co.  We stood and awwwwed in the window before heading in.  I can't believe this is the only photo I have of us together from yesterday.....you can just see us in the reflection of the Pierrot costume that stopped me in my tracks:

I can't remember when I first discovered Wendy - maybe in a magazine?  (Like Victoria or M.E.)  Might have been when I saw some of her wonderful pieces done in black and white.  Then the book Where Women Create hit the shelves and I buckled at the knees when I saw her studio/shoppe.  You KNOW what I'm talking about if you have that book.  It was indeed a privilege to meet her and to see her journal filled with deliciously juicy sketches.  And to stand and watch her theater in motion as she stood with a wink and pulled the tassle-ended string.  She's a girl after my own heart - embedding secrets in her work.

We had a wonderful time seeing all her products too.  The halloween items are clever - I especially love the skeleton in the coffin.  After Lynne left one of the things I asked Wendy about was the costume we had spied earlier.  Since I have a thing for Pierrots I asked her stand next to it for a photo.  Look how cute she is with her hand through the sleeve.  Like a fangirl I ran out onto the sidewalk for a quick snap.

I will print out that photo and place it on my Wendy Addison (signed!) frame.  Doesn't it almost look like an "M"?  Had to have it....as well as some other goodies from Tinsel Trading.

You might remember seeing on Pam Garrison's blog that she and Jenny Doh were sprinkled with the lucky dust as they got to visit Wendy's studio some months back (which led to an Artist Portfolio in Somerset Studio, Jul/Aug 07). 

I've been such a lucky girl - to take a train to the city for a warm October day with a friend, to catch up on conversation, and to feast on inspiring visuals.....the hour ride home was not enough time to scribble down all my thoughts and fresh ideas.  Thanks Lynne, thanks Gustav, thanks Wendy!

Lots of incoming goodies to show you...some will wait until later this week when I post my Halloween stuff.  How about this from Marylinn Kelly?  She delivers sunshine with her hand-colored-with-love envelopes.  Do you love her skullies?  The pin was a gift earlier this year - don't you think she needs to be selling these on her site?  New rubber designs by Marylinn are at Rubber Moon.

Here are some cards.....the first from my ghoulfriend Lisa, I think she needs a tattoo of these guys:

And Michelle was so sweet to send this....she entered it for the Crush Crusade as she was crushing on the ink blot article on Somerset.  She dedicated it to me since I crush on red, and then surprised me by mailing it here!  I had to get that skull stamp for myself...she was an enabler - oh, and the Top Hat pick for the crusade!!  (Skull by Inkadinkado)

Paint the town Red?  Judi knew I'd love it.  And just a few days ago Lynne sent this....might have to try a few verses of my own.

Two more things I have to share.  While at Valley Ridge I was giving Andrew a hard time about his Frank Lloyd Wright stencils he had just scored at Taliesin East.  I was teasing him that he should have gotten me some....and I even had the nerve to continue after we got home by threatening to spray paint his picnic table in exchange for the stencils.  Such a sweet man, he was actually going to send me two but I refused because I can get my own with a few clicks on the keyboard.  It was a touching offer wasn't it?  So I never got around to ordering them and this week a fantastically painted box arrived on my doorstep.  You guessed it FLW stencils!  FROM BONNIE BENSON, another student at Valley Ridge.  She witnessed the fuss I made over them and as she passed by Taliesin on her way back home she got them for me.  How cool is that?  Thanks Bonnie!

And the last story to wind up a really good week is a gift I got from my sweet friend Linda Warlyn.  I'm late in sharing this one as it was two weeks ago that she gave me this thoughtful present.  If you read the comments on this blog you have no doubt read Linda's warm and generous words.....and wished she had a blog because you just know you'd like her.  So in the bag were these two boxes...not any ordinary boxes.  Black licorice!  I don't even remember telling you here that I like black licorice but I blather on about everything I crush on so I'm not surprised it slipped out.  (Easter:  black jelly bean mention according to Linda)  BUT HERE'S WHY THESE BOXES ARE SO SPECIAL:  THEY ARE FROM FINLAND.  And you thought I might get through an entire long post without a single mention of ......well, you know.  But SHE knows, and so when she pointed it out I fell over in amazement at her cleverness.  AND because she knows I crush on scents, and four leaf clovers too, THIS sachet was another PERFECT thing.  Thanks Linda!  (and start a blog would ya?)

NEXT:  my halloween pictures!  We are having a party Saturday.....and I'm not even done!

Mission: Accomplished!

Report from Thursday:  Terrific show!  We passed off our precious cargo to the band's manager.  It was a success!  Thanks for all your heartfelt and enthusiastic well wishes.  We are so thrilled!  Details below.

 

The box - found at Marshalls.  (Bought myself the matching smaller version, of course!)  I was first attractecd to it by the colors and handsome brass details.  There were a few like this one that were slightly different in pattern - but I liked how this one had a cross-like emblem...but the clincher:  do you see "V"s?  Me too.

Here's how the bottles looked in the box.  I made a journal to chronicle the tales, past and present, of the gathering and gifting of the dirt.  It was a rush job....wish I had 24 more hours.  I typed out a quick summary of how the grave dirt gift evolved and all who were involved with as many pictures and extra details I could pull together in one day.  (Chris you'll see yourself in the journal....I wrote about how you gathered the California dirt for me!!  And Maj, you're in there too!)

 

 

So here's how it went down:  After the opening band played Fallon and I were standing near the other Street Teamers....and it didn't look like there was going to be any kind of meet and greet....when all of a sudden I see the band's manager, Seppo.  He was just walking right past us in the club.  (He's a recognizable dude...come on, you know we're fangirls and we should know these things!)  So I grab his arm and pull him over.  I explained that I had this gift and he was aware that something like this was coming as our leader had emailed him to try to arrange a hand-off.  I pass off a black messenger bag for Ville, filled with some books and The Box.  He says he'll go deliver right away and said they would be leaving directly after the show as they were really tired.  Fair enough, and mission accomplished!  If I wasn't able to give the bag of goodies to Ville, Seppo was the man!  He was kind enough to hang for another minute so I could get a snapshot of Fallon with him.  It was a Rock Star Moment for Fallon to stand with Seppo. 

So maybe like less than thirty minuted later HE COMES BACK.  He was all glowing and smiling and purposely came to tell us that the gift was well received.  Ville loved the gifts and was impressed with additions to the collection.  I could tell by the way Seppo was talking to us that he was sincere.  How cool was that to have him come back out into the crowd to share that news?  We were giddy.  Of course we had hoped to present the gifts ourselves but this was a terrific experience too!  Because he returned I was able to get an additional photo of myself with him.

The concert was fantastic!  Great to her some of new Venus Doom tracks live for the first time.  Starland Ballroom is a great place to see your favorite band.  It's general admission but there isn't a bad place to stand....feels like you're up close anywhere in the venue.  Ville was very animated and laughing and you could tell it was a perfect nght kicking off the new tour.  Looking forward to seeing them again in December when they wind it up in New York City.  We did stalk the bus after the show but security made us leave before we spied anyone from the band coming out.  (Did you notice I forgot to lean forward and my chin got caught on film?)

EDIT:  these just in from another teamer......Suukko4 (aka Sue from the PA Street Team)

One more EDIT:  Gossip from London: 

MetalHammer announces:  The people who sort out the James Bond music have apparently approached Ville Valo from HIM to record the theme for the next Bond film. Might this end the speculation that Amy Winehouse would be asked to record the next Bond theme?

Reportedly, the Bond soundtrack writers David Arnold and Don Black approached Valo at the BMI Awards last Tuesday here in London sounding him out about working on the title song for the next film. One of those sources told the tab: "David Arnold and Don Black were in deep conversation with Ville on the night. They love the song that won him an award (Wings of a Butterfly). They think he has just the right ear to write a classic Bond hit with them".  {Swooooooooon - the right voice too.}

Good Vibrations

Halloween party invites sent out:  CHECK.  Channel positive vibes for good mail day:  CHECK. 

Assault mailman:  CHECK  (the poor guy is a sub and doesn't know this is typical behavior for me).  Screech when stash of mail arrives:  CHECK.  First spaz:  Victoria!  Second spaz:  Somerset Studio.  THIRD SPAZ:  DIRT IS HERE!!!!  Didn't even see at first glance that there was a priority envelope in the stash!  Wrote to Chris to assure her it arrived.....then talked to her so we could have a group spaz.  Now I'm furiously working on the packing and journal that will accompany the box of bottles.  (Journal will chronicle the tales of the collection process).  It's HERE!!!  Thanks for all your good vibes!!

THEN - I stopped by my P.O. box and there was an anonymous envelope from NJ.....with Walt Whitman dirt.  COME ON!!!!!!  This is awesome....more than awesome!  I am using quotes from Dead Poet's Society in my little gift book so W.W. is perfect.  BUT WHO SENT IT?????  UNmarked envelope....but postmarked Camden, NJ which is where Whitman is buried.  (Of course I looked it up....wouldn't you?)  AND THEN, a sweet reader wrote and offered to get me Lizzie Borden dirt when she heads to Massachusetts this month.  I'm telling ya....this has been an amazing adventure!

In 24 hours we'll be standing in line....breathless for the OPENING NIGHT of the new tour.  Swoooon.

Dig this!!

I should type this in all upper case letters so you know I'M SCREECHING WITH EXCITEMENT!  Just this afternoon I spoke with Chris who confirmed she had indeed gone and collected the grave dirt I had requested from the two cemeteries in California.  CAN YOU STAND IT?  And the girl is so dang clever, she took photos for evidence.  (Because I'm certain there are many of you out there reading my posts on this topic with great skepticism....is that a word?)  Before I start preparing the bottles that will embrace the dirt, I will share the photos Chris sent.  DOESN'T SHE ROCK?  Notice the dates on the photos - from TODAY!!!

Come on!  Can you believe how cool this is?  I met Chris on 9/27 when she wrote me an email.  Her wit got my attention and I have enjoyed conversation with her both on the phone and via email.  (Example:  when she wrote me about possibly getting some dirt her post was called Digging Around, followed by Cloak and Digger.  Who wouldn't be amused by that?)  I swear this mission was her own idea, which makes it even more special.  I'm truly touched that a new friend would take on such an extraordinary crusade.  I'm not sure she even realized that my next HIM concert is only days away.  Please join me in sending positive vibes to the postal paths that will get her dirt to me before Thursday night.  CA to NJ.  Hey, it can happen.  IT WILL HAPPEN.  The only uncertainty is HOW to get it to Ville.  There is no planned Meet&Greet for this tour.  I think stalking the tourbus will be on the agenda.  I will flash my credentials, Street Team member, and Grave Dirt Crew.....and with more positive vibes from you I will get to deliver all FIVE BOTTLES of grave dirt.  (Back-up plan:  we also will be attending another HIM show 12/1, BUT I CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG!!!)

So a 1000 thank yous to Chris for these two California dudes, to Ann who directed me to where I could get the dirt from France, and Maj who sent dirt from Denmark.  I'll be back later this week to show you the preparations of the gifts. 

P.S.  About the coins on the headstone:  apparently it's good manners to leave coins in exchange for collecting dirt (something I read on a witchcraft site....I'm NOT into THAT, but wanted to read more about those that collect dirt.)  Not to be confused with the the throwing of pennies onto Benjamin Franklin's grave.  Don't you think it's funny that he coined the phrase "A penny saved is a penny earned" and yet people toss pennies his way?  I have read about many gravestones that have been left with coins or pebbles.  Leaving pebbles is a jewish tradition....maybe the coins are a version of that?  And in another place I read about coins being a symbol of having been there, or helping to pay passage into the next world.  If you know anything about this tradition leave a comment and enlighten us all!

EDIT:  See Chris's account HERE.

opinionated

When I wrote the last post with the subject line "still buzzed" I had no idea that today I'd be writing about a buzz, literally.  Peter had grown his hair for two years.  Everytime he would ask to get it cut I would tell him NO!  Graham always had long hair so neither of us cared that he wanted to grow it.  After the investment of time the curls kept his hair from gaining the length he was hoping for.  It wanted to grow out vs. down.  I feel his pain...I also have that hair, but I blow-dry mine out everyday.  A drop of rain and I duck for cover.  You curly girls know what I mean.  So he finally convinced us he was ready to be done.  Imagine having to argue with your parents to let you cut your hair!  Peter, glad you have your own opinion.  Looks good honey.

still buzzed

A weekend at Valley Ridge will leave you buzzing for a long time.  There is nothing like being in the midst of creative energy.  And there is nothing like Valley Ridge.  Imagine a picture perfect setting, gracious hosts, enthusiastic artists gathering from here and there, a light-filled dynamite studio (where each artist gets their own table), and two whole days appointed for making cool stuff.  Oh, and I'm not one to gush about food, but Kathy and Bill present the best lunches.  (How about that tomato and basil soup?  swooon!)  And fabulous dinners if you're the instructor!!  It's the ultimate destination.  Icing on the cake for this weekend:  Mom joined in the fun (again!)

Backstage Pass is a process class disguised as a project.  I like to teach process but most students like to leave with a project.  They made assemblages while simultaneously developing and recording ideas on pages of a journal.  I really wanted them to learn what a valuable tool your journal can be as you work on anything.  They totally got it.  They ROCKED! 

Look at these girls so hard at work.  Can you believe I didn't even play the music I brought?  It's usually a good ice-breaker to loosen up the room but this crowd didn't need it.  The studio was radiating with good vibrations and chatter, we didn't even get to the music.

Check out my Mom and her assemblage - filled with sentimental meaning and significant keepsakes.  And how about Debby with her groovy jeans?  This class wasn't about spray but it's such a big part of what I do right now that I had to share it.  We had a spray station outside where everyone got to try out the addictiveness of spray painting with stencils.  I had on my sprayed denim to show them how cool it is to paint on fabric.  So Debby hops off to the car for a spare pair of jeans and paints herself a souvenir.  See post below for my delinquent behavior on someone else's property. 

Kathy, proprietor of Valley Ridge, and resident fairy expert.  Goony face me, and Mom who drove form Minnesota for a visit.  She had also come two years ago and we made her take the class.   H.C.I.T.?

Apparently I had the goonface pose for the weekend.  Actually, you are supposed to lean forward a little so your double chin doesn't show....but I don't think it's required to bug out your eyes too.  Here we are with Judy, who you met earlier this year on my blog.  I credit this blog for becoming friends with Judy - she and Mom were travel buddies last weekend.  More H.C.I.T.  Aren't you glad I didn't pose with each student so you'd have to suffer through more cheesy mugs?

Here's another photos of the group taken from the other side of the final presentation table.  Great work gang!  It was a total gas.  Seeing old friends and making new ones.  Can't get much better.

And do you love when this happens?  I'm blathering away about something and before you know it there was an OOPS and a lesson to be learned.  Solving problems can teach us the best lessons.  Thats' why workshops can be so rewarding.  While we are working out details on our own pieces we see and hear the processes being tested and tried within the studio.  It's an environment where techniques and tricks are shared, materials too!  If you are on the fence about taking a workshop, fall on the side of YES!  And take one at Valley Ridge if you can.  They have a stellar line-up of instructors every year.

Thanks to Kathy for a great experience, and to all my students who rocked the art.  Fellow bloggers Sue Pieper and Andrew Borloz and Bernadette DeMoro  (who came from Texas!) and Xanthe Walker have posted about the weekend, and Lisa Cook will soon has too.  Go see! 

As if last weekend wasn't enough excitement......HIM in one week.  Squeeeeeeeee.

table takeover

or makeover?  whatever it was...it was spontaneous and i got caught before i was finished, egged on by the terrific bunch of students at the ridge this weekend.  additional evidence of a fabulous experience to follow......i'm still recovering.

the view from here

It's already October!  You'd never guess from the temps here.  Mid to upper 80s for the next week.  Lots going on this month.  I'm leaving for a weekend workshop tomorrow, then we have a few concerts, and we'll end the month with a Halloween party!  As soon as I get back from Wisconsin I'll start ghouling out the house.  Speaking of that, we've started a new crusade!  Congrats to Michelle Infantino for being the Top Hat Pick for No. 12.  We have hit the one year mark for the Street Team.  Hundreds of teamers have joined in the fun.  Come see what we're up to!

Someday I'll share a few photos of my studio.  You don't even wanna see it right now!  I'm just about packed for Valley Ridge Art Studios.  Getting ready for class reminds me of why I stopped traveling to teach.  I love doing it but there is so much preparation.  If you have been to Valley Ridge you know why we like to go back which is the only reason I'm not cursing right now.  An added bonus for me is my Mom comes to visit at VR.  Last time we made her take the class and she did great.  Looking forward to seeing familiar faces - students who have become friends, and new students who are friends I haven't met yet.

 

Tuesday Susanna and I continued with our silk screen printing class.  Above the graphic I'm working on for a tshirt.  We are working on Macs, yikes!  I'm not going to get into a debate about which is better, PC or Mac, because we know what we know, and love what we love.  It's just hard to be Mac-ing because I'm not familiar with it.  During a lull in class we visited our blogs....and yikes again!  My blog looks so different on a Mac through Safari.  Like, it is all scrunched and you can't see the full pictures.  So heads up as you are doing your blog thing, especially on typepad:  make sure you set your photos to be clickable so they pop-up, otherwise your visuals might not be seen as intended.  The view from here, as I design the layouts on my blog, is that I can see the whole thing.  My blog fills the screen edge-to-edge and there is even white space between the photos and the sidebars.

Lisa is an endless sender of "check this out" and "don't miss this" kind of bulletins.  She's an "I got your back" kind of friend.  Recently she called on a Sunday to demand I go get the New York Times.  In the magazine they featured Scott Campbell - a dude I wrote about back HERE.  There was a one page update on all the cool things he's working on.  A tattoo artist who is widening his canvas.  Here are a few peeks from his website.  Check out that book!!!  And the ostrich egg, and the furniture......these would be the perfect things for Crusade No. 13.

Poe dirt is no longer needed for the GIFT.  I must have missed the post from my friends on the Massachusetts/Rhode Island HIM Street Team.  They already gifted Ville with cemetery dirt from Poe's grave while at the Projekt Revolution tour in August.  Here are Lani and Deb, and Ville!  (you'd think they might look a little happier, wouldn't you?)  Deb reminded Ville about giving him the dirt last year and he said he had it with him on the bus!! 

Here's a link to youtube where there is no video but it's part 3 of a phone interview from September 2007, where he mentions the grave dirt AGAIN!  (3rd time!).  Forward to about 4:40 HERE.  He says the "grave dirt in the little glass bottles with name tags and labels is great for inspiration". 

I still would like Poe dirt for myself so those of you have offered, stay on task!

Thanks to Ann who shared a link to a gal on ETSY who sells cemetery dirt.  (You'll remember I posted about Ann's cool tags, also on ETSY).  So I have purchased graveyard dirt from the two cemeteries in France that I needed.  I couldn't pass it up....it was so serendipitous that Ann found the listing just after my post.  And the seller, ALDETHA's real name is Michelle.  It was a sign.  (And they have arrived so I can check two off the list!)

There have been a few generous souls who have offered to get the dirt I need from California.  As soon as I know it's a definite thing I will post here and the crusade will be complete (for now). 

Some of you have asked about Edward Gorey and why don't I have him on my list.  First, let's acknowledge the recent project headed up by Sylvia Luna.  Many of my friends participated in it - you've seen excerpts in the recent Somerset Studio, and may have been fortunate enough to see the display in Arizona (soon to be revealed in Colorado!)  Mr. Gorey's ashes were scattered off the coast of Massachusetts - no dirt to be had. 

I got so much feedback about this post privately.  Thanks to all of you who wrote to share your interest in beautiful graveyards and the idea of the grave dirt gift.  Many of you 'get' how thrilling it's been for me to be part of The Grave Dirt Crew.   

And since I'm talking about my band AGAIN I will just mention that I have photographic evidence that Ville has worn the shirt I gave him.  (Remember the one with the top hatted crow?  He wore it during an interview in Finland!) 

See ya naxt week!